Záhon jsme přece zalévali.

Here záhon is in the accusative singular, because it is the direct object of zalévat (to water).

It looks the same as the dictionary form because záhon is a masculine inanimate noun, and in the singular its nominative and accusative are often identical.

So:

• nominative: záhon
• accusative: záhon

You know it is accusative here from its role in the sentence, not from a special ending.

Czech word order is much freer than English word order. Putting záhon first gives it special discourse importance: it becomes the topic or a contrastive element.

So Záhon jsme přece zalévali feels a bit like:

• As for the flower bed, we did water it
• The flower bed, we were watering it, after all

This can suggest contrast, for example:

• maybe someone thinks the flower bed was neglected
• maybe something else was not watered, but the flower bed was
• maybe the speaker is correcting someone

So the fronted object is not random; it helps shape the emphasis.

Jsme is a clitic. In Czech, clitics usually go in second position in the clause.

That means they typically come after the first sentence element or first phrase, not necessarily after the subject.

In this sentence, the first element is Záhon, so the clitic jsme comes right after it:

• Záhon | jsme | přece zalévali

This is very normal Czech word order.

A native English speaker often expects something like We watered the flower bed, with the subject first. Czech does not have to work that way.

Přece is a very common Czech discourse particle, and it is hard to translate with one single English word.

In this sentence it adds a sense like:

• after all
• come on
• but
• you know
• surely
• as I said / as you know

It often appears when the speaker is:

• reminding someone of something
• correcting a mistaken assumption
• insisting on something already known
• expressing mild impatience or obviousness

So Záhon jsme přece zalévali is not just a plain statement. It sounds more like:

• But we did water the flower bed.
• We watered the flower bed, after all.
• Come on, we were watering the flower bed.

The exact English version depends on context.

This is an aspect question.

• zalévat = imperfective
• zalít = perfective

So:

• zalévali = imperfective past
• zalili = perfective past

The imperfective zalévali focuses on the process, activity, or possibly repeated/habitual action, rather than one completed result.

The perfective zalili would suggest a more clearly completed single act of watering.

Very roughly:

• Záhon jsme přece zalévali. = We were watering / did water the flower bed.
• Záhon jsme přece zalili. = We did water the flower bed completely / we gave it its watering.

In real life, English often uses the same simple past for both, but Czech keeps the aspect distinction.

The Czech past tense here is made with:

• the auxiliary být (to be) in the present tense
• plus the l-participle of the main verb

So:

• jsme = we are as an auxiliary form, used in the past tense
• zalévali = past participle form of zalévat

Together:

• jsme zalévali = we were watering / we watered

This is the normal way Czech forms the past in the 1st and 2nd person.

Because Czech usually omits subject pronouns when they are not needed.

The form jsme already tells you the subject is we, so my is unnecessary.

That is why:

• Záhon jsme přece zalévali.

is perfectly normal.

You can add my if you want extra emphasis or contrast:

• My jsme přece záhon zalévali.

That would sound more like:

• We were the ones who watered the flower bed.
• But we watered the flower bed.

So the missing pronoun is normal, not incomplete.

In the past tense, the Czech l-participle agrees with the subject in number and, in the plural, also in gender.

The form zalévali with -i tells us the subject is plural and masculine animate / mixed, meaning:

• a group of men, or
• a mixed group containing at least one male

If the speakers were all female, it would be:

• Záhon jsme přece zalévaly.

So this sentence gives a clue about who we are.

You could say it differently. Czech allows several word orders, but each one has a slightly different emphasis or information structure.

For example:

• Záhon jsme přece zalévali.
  Focuses on záhon; sounds contrastive or corrective.

• Přece jsme zalévali záhon.
  More like after all, we were watering the flower bed.

• Zalévali jsme přece záhon.
  Focuses a bit more on the action itself.

All of these are possible in the right context, but they do not feel exactly the same.

One thing that usually stays true is that the clitic jsme wants to be near the second position.

Because Czech has no articles like a, an, or the.

So záhon can mean:

• a flower bed
• the flower bed

The exact meaning depends on context.

In this sentence, it will often be understood as the flower bed, because the speaker sounds as if both people already know which one is being discussed. The word order and the particle přece also support that sense of shared context.

Yes. Without přece, the sentence becomes much more neutral:

• Záhon jsme zalévali.

That simply states the fact.

With přece, the sentence gains an extra tone of:

• reminder
• correction
• insistence
• mild contradiction

So přece is not required for grammar, but it matters a lot for the speaker’s attitude.